The Best Movies to Watch Before Seeing ‘Thunderbolts*’

As reliable as clockwork and as dependable as the sky being blue, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is returning to movie theaters this weekend. On offer this time is Thunderbolts*, starring Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and David Harbour. Representing the end of MCU’s phase five before The Fantastic Four: First Steps jump-starts phase six, Thunderbolts* has a lot on its shoulders. Directed by Jake Schreier, Thunderbolts* is the 36th entry in the MCU. That’s well over 70 hours of sweet, sweet superhero cinema. And when you factor in dozens of TV series, the thought of catching up on the gargantuan franchise is nothing short of terrifying. Nobody has time for all that!

Thunderbolts* may feel like an especially daunting task because it’s about a group of characters the average MCU audience isn’t overly familiar with. But since Avengers: Endgame wrapped up most of the franchise’s long-standing story lines, there’s actually not too much to catch up on. We’ve got you covered on the best films to watch heading into Marvel’s latest to get you up to speed on this eclectic bunch of anti-heroes. From the film you’ve got to see to the movies (and shows) that will turn you into the ultimate expert, here’s your official Thunderbolts* syllabus.

Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures/Marvel Studios/Courtesy Everett Collection

Though Thunderbolts* is a classic team-up movie in the vein of The Avengers or Suicide Squad, there’s still one main character: Yelena Belova (Pugh). That’s good news because it means there’s only one film you need to see ahead of time. That’s 2021’s Black Widow, starring the titular Russian spy herself, a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Yelena is dealing with a mental-health crisis in Thunderbolts*, and Black Widow goes a long way in detailing Yelena’s brutal upbringing and how she became a mercenary who doesn’t know who she is without violence. Pugh is excellent in Black Widow, and it’s the perfect gateway to understanding Yelena’s headspace going into Thunderbolts*. As a bonus, it’s also our first look at the Red Guardian (Harbour), Yelena’s father figure and fellow member of the Thunderbolts.

Then come the other members of the Thunderbolts team who have smaller — yet not insignificant — roles in the movie. Ava Starr, a.k.a. Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), has the incredible power to make herself intangible, granting her invisibility, but it comes with a price: She’s physically unstable, dying of a lack of quantum energy, and completely unable to live a normal life. She’s an antagonist in Ant-Man and the Wasp, in which she relentlessly pursues the titular heroes because they know about the mysterious quantum energy and because of their links to Hank Pym (Michael Douglas). It’s a lot to grasp, but Ant-Man and the Wasp fleshes out Ghost’s backstory in an efficient enough manner and features a moment explicitly referenced in Thunderbolts*.

Bucky Barnes (Stan), a.k.a. Winter Soldier, is one of the most beloved characters in the entirety of the MCU, and he’s a member of the Thunderbolts. His first major appearance came in 2014’s excellent Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which dives into his backstory and long-gestating relationship with Captain America (Chris Evans). If you want to learn about the pair’s epic relationship and see Barnes’s incredible physical prowess, watching The Winter Soldier is the best way to do that. If you’re hooked, there’s plenty more of Barnes to enjoy; he pops up in Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.

Photo: Disney+/Courtesy Everett Collection

What do you mean there’s a Captain America that isn’t played by Chris Evans or Anthony Mackie? If that’s a question you’re asking, you aren’t alone. You’re likely unfamiliar with John Walker’s (Wyatt Russell) brief stint as Captain America because you haven’t seen the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The character’s origins are briefly discussed in Thunderbolts*, but Walker’s foray into heroism and ultimate turn to darker activities is laid out in the series. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier also features a look at both Bucky Barnes and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), who has a major role in the new movie.

Full disclosure: This movie isn’t very good. But Thunderbolts* does follow the events of Captain America: Brave New World, making it a potential spot to brush up on (and if the box office is any indication, there’s a decent chance you have not seen it at all). There’s a key reference in Thunderbolts* to a U.S. president turning into a red giant, which is a major plot point in Brave New World. Heck, it’s got Harrison Ford (literally) hulking out, which is worth the price of admission.

Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) doesn’t appear in Thunderbolts*. In fact, he’s not even mentioned. But for those wanting to get to know Pugh’s Yelena even better, the TV series Hawkeye is your next step after Black Widow. Crucially, Hawkeye deals specifically with Yelena’s grief about the death of her sister, which looms heavily over her head in Thunderbolts*.

Photo: Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

MCU standout The Avengers is the franchise’s ultimate team-up movie. The famed Avengers headquarters is the glorious Avengers Tower, which features prominently in Thunderbolts*. There’s a line that refers to some truly “epic fights” that have happened within the tower walls, and if you watch The Avengers, you’ll know exactly which one it’s talking about. If this is somehow one you haven’t seen before, make it a top priority simply because it’s a comic-book lover’s dream come true.

While this recommendation doesn’t give away any character reveals or major twists, it does mention a specific element of Thunderbolts* that is spoiler-y in nature. You’ve been warned!

This one is particularly niche. On the surface, Moon Knight as a show has no bearing whatsoever on Thunderbolts*. However, Thunderbolts* does feature “shame rooms” — created by Bob, a.k.a. Sentry (Lewis Pullman) — which bring people into the most traumatic parts of their pasts, forcing them to face the moments head-on. The hardcore MCU fans know that shame rooms, or at least an extremely similar concept, first appear in the Disney+ series Moon Knight. So if you want to understand this (admittedly) baffling concept in more depth, watch Oscar Isaac battle personal demons in Moon Knight.